If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

RE: What else do you do for fun?

A post by StevePh about having other hobbies besides geocaching made me decide to start this thread . . .

Steve mentioned that he has many other hobbies besides geocaching so he keeps busy balancing out his other hobbies. I too have other hobbies so I thought it might be an interesting thread to find out what other folks do for fun . . . when not working.

I'll start.

In the summer I enjoy camping and traveling (and of course geocaching fits in well with those hobbies.) I also am an avid ATVer (which sometimes is conducive to geocaching . . . although I have yet to actually do a geocache from an ATV.)

In the winter I enjoy snowmobiling . . . although last year was kind of a bust. I did travel a lot (way too much according to my wife Heidi) to get in a little over 2,000 miles (nearly all the miles in the Crown of Maine) . . . and on the days when I was "home bound, but free" I did some geocaching since there was little to no snow cover and geocaching then was pretty darn easy. When it's really bad outside I will play video games on the PC or PlayStation 2 (yeah, I'm a nerd that way.)

I also enjoy writing (feature stories, humor columns), reading and photography (my house is decorated with all kinds of photos that I've taken over the years). I also enjoy watching a good movie . . . or two.

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the realization that there is something more important than fear."

I am a Appalachian Trail enthusiasts. This is my major passion right now and an inspiring goal for me to to hike the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine in the year 2010 and so far everything is going as planned. I maintain a section of the Appalachian Trail here in Maine. This requires me to maintain and upkeep the section of the Trail and do maintenance on it when needed, such as cutting down blow downs and making water bars and anything else that is needed as it arises. I also run an Appalachian Trail web site at www.whiteblaze.net which keeps me very busy on the web.

Which brings me to my other passion. Web site design. I also run and maintain the Geocaching Maine web site for the Maine Geocaching community.

I love camping with friends, backpacking and also love to kayak when I get the time.

I am a very avid snowmobiler in the winter months. When we have enough snow here in Maine I have been known to put 3,000 plus miles on my sled a year. We will not talk about last year though.

I am an outdoors type person. I rarely if ever watch TV. The only thing that keeps me in the house in my passion for my web sites and my computer.

This year geocaching has definately taken over much of my free time.Cheryl saids I have a "addictive personality",but doing 327 caches in six months isn't addictive,its just fun.

My other pasions are biking,backpacking,and snow shoeing.Cheryl and me also like to go camping.

I have bicycled about 16,000 miles in the pass six years,again not addictive just fun.This includes a 4000 mile trip across the country and numerous trips in N.E. I'm a member of the Bicycle Coalition of Maine .

Hiked all but one of the 4,000' mts. in Maine and lots of miles on the A.T. in Maine.Have done winter trips on Mt. Washington and a three day winter camping trip on Bigelow.

Cheryl and myself did a cross country car trip two years ago,camping out every night for three weeks.Camping one night in Yellowstone in a snow storm.Cheryl saids she would have perfer a motel,but I think she is only kidding !!

I also enjoy going to the coffee shop every morning ,telling tall tales,and spreading bull....Wow that sounds like here!!

Hobbies

Since a post I made prompted this thread, I guess I should share my hobbies as well.

I am an avid outdoor enthusiast. I like to fish, especially fly-fish from a canoe (but I still have a lot to learn about it). I enjoy shooting sports and have done everything from shooting muzzleloaders to competitive 10 meter air pistol. I spend most of the fall hunting which was what originally prompted my GPSr purchase. After hunting season, I will try to get out on my snowshoes and cross country skis if the (snow cooperates) but my aging knees have shortened those trips in recent years. I never owned a snowmobile.

I got my first ATV 3 years ago after a real struggle getting an opening day deer I bagged out of the woods. I joined the local ATV club and have had some great group rides.

I love photography and still have my black and white darkroom in service after 30 plus years. I have some old film cameras but I switched to digital for all my color photos. For me there is still something special about making your own prints in a traditional darkroom.

I am an avid reader and enjoy watching movies, passions I share with my family. We have books and DVDs stacked all over the house. I really love college football, especially the Ohio State Buckeyes where I went to graduate school. Watching all bowl games on HD is incredible!!

My two daughters are in their early 20's now but over the years my wife, the girls and I have shared some fun outdoor adventures at the lake or visiting a scenic spot on the Maine coast. It's too bad chores at home and bad weather prevent us all from spending more time enjoying the great state of Maine!

Shortly after I got the GPSr, I learned about geocaching and thought it would be another great outdoor pursuit. I really enjoy it and have combined caching with photo expeditions and work or vacation trips and a great ATV ride on the Rail Trail in Dexter this week. I don't think I will ever post the kind of numbers some of you power cachers do, but caching has brought me to some new places I would otherwise never have visited.

The trouble with doing nothing is that it is hard to know when you're finished.

Geocaching is a great past time for us because we like to spend most of our "free" time as a family. Other activites we enjoy are boating and fishing in the summer, and snowmobiling in the winter. Myself, I crochet, make jams and relish, and volunteer a bit. The girls and I are all involved with Girl Scouts and our church. I'm on the local EMS and my other half is a capt. in the fire dept. Geoching though, that's the one thing that we all enjoy, if someone isn't pouting because they didn't find it first. Aaah kids, just got to have 'em.

Jeeps, Beer, Guns, Hiking, Snowshoing, Camping, Fishing, (sometimes golf, the clubs are pretty dusty) Paintball, Beer, Jeeps, Videogames (lots of em) Motorcycles (current situations don't allow me to have one, so I have to go home and steal dad's ) and so when I'm not doing any of the above I'm either at work (work is fun, does that count?) or asleep.

Right now my main hobby is my kids! 3 kids age 4 and under...need I say more? Okay I will, they're cute too!

I do sneak off to grab caches when I am allowed. I'm looking forward to taking the kids on longer hikes when they get a little bigger. My 3 year old, Tyler, makes it about a half mile and then ends up on my shoulders...makes the terrain rating a it tougher!

Before Caching - BC

BC almost sound like a disease but honestly - my family and I have been engaged in numerous hobbies over the years! The most significant and consuming one was as a family unit, we bred and showed dogs for nearly 20 years. Kids grew up and moved away and this hobby became more than as a couple we could do alone.

In middle school and high school both children had engaged in outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, motocross, 4 wheelers - yup, we did it all. Last fall, I was on line and saw something explaining Geocaching. I mentioned to hubby a GPSr would be a nice Christmas present because without one you can't do it. Yup, he put one under the tree and we started with friend finding the first cache in January. We were fumbling but I was reading and learning. Kids had partnered with Dad and gave me books about Geocaching.

In April, I got my daugher, her new husband and step-daughter engaged in this great sport too! We have gone many miles together - sometimes with all of them - sometimes just with Becka.

My husband was taken ill in May. Geocaching has been a great way to spend time with him. Being semi-retired has allowed us to log many miles riding together in the car and remembering. It's been fun and just what we needed this summer.

Aside from caching, I am very interested in Emergency Management and Emergency Preparedness. I volunteer as a Disaster Services Tech for the American Red Cross. Am our Town Health Officer/EMA Director and can be seen reading to my church's Christian Nursery School and functioning as their School Nurse. Am a collector, sold antiques and still do on Ebay. I love kids, the outdoors and am glad Geocaching has gotten me back into an active mode.

Years ago I was a camp counselor, swimming instructor, and have done loads of things. I have done the camping, shooting (rifle and pistol), hunting, fishing, snowmobiling (racing on grass), motorcycle (mud run racing and cross country touring) and 4 x 4ing things. Waterskiing, jet skiing, sailing, canoeing, kayaking..........we've touched most of it. After all - I am a Maine Woman!

My life has been and is a blast and Geocaching just another way to meet loads of folks. Thank you all for making me feel so welcome! Each friendship I make is valued.